Dialing tool



3,073,285 DEALING TOOL Bruce Mouat .lefiris, Janesville, Wis., assignor to The Parker Pen Company, Janesville, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed June 24, 1957, Ser. No. 667,614 1 Claim. (Cl. 120-1) This application relates in general to self-holding dialing tools and in particular to devices combining a telephone dialing tool and a writing instrument. The invention disclosed and claimed therein provides anew and improved device of this type.

The prior art devices of this type have the dialing tool disposed at the end of the device opposite the writing point of the writing instrument.

A disadvantage of these prior art devices is that the device must be turned end for end and re-gripped to change from the writing operation position to the dialing operation position and vice-versa. Another disadvantage of these prior art devices is that, if and .when the dialing tool end is left at rest hanging in the telephone dial, the writing element, unless mechanism is provided for retracting the writing element, is exposed and thus is 1) likely to mark the user*s hands or clothes or mark any other object or person coming into contact therewith, and (2) subject to being damaged bycontact with such objects. V I

This invention overcomes these disadvantages by providing a combination telephone dialer-writinginstrument" device wherein the dialing tool and the writing point are at the same end of the device.

it is therefore an object of this invention to provide a combination dialing tool-writing instrument device which, in order to change from the dialing function to the writing function and vice-versa, requires no change in grip and requires no end-to-end turning.

Another object is to provide such a device wherein the writing point, in normal usage, is exposed only when writing and is never disposed upwardly.

It is a further object to provide such a device wherein the writing element is protected from damage by either the telephone dialing apparatus or persons or things near the telephone dialing apparatus.

Still another object is to provide such a device wherein the device does not touch the dial plate and therefore does not scratch or rub thereon and thus does not mar or eliminate the latters and numerals on the face of the dial plate.

This invention provides the novel structure of a writing instrument comprising a forward portion having a diameter greater than that of the openings of an automatic telephone dial hole-plate, an extension projecting forwardly from the said forward portion and having a diameter less than that of said openings, and a writing unit projecting forwardly of said extension.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view, partly in section, of an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an illustration of the same embodiment, in use in telephone apparatus, and shows the usual dialing position of the device; and

FIG. 3 shows the same embodiment in the self-holding position in the telephone apparatus.

Referring to the drawings, a combination writing instrument-dialing tool device is shown. A casing such as a plastic barrel 4 houses a writing unit such as a ball point cartridge 5 having mounted in its forward end a Writing element in the form of a writing ball 10. The

States Patent writing unit projects forwardly from the barrel 4. The barrel 4 has a rear section 6 removably mounted thereon such as by being threaded thereto. A spring 7 is mounted between the cartridge 5 and the barrel 4 so as to rearwardly bias the cartridge for taking up tolerance so that the cartridge may be firmly mounted in the barrel without undue looseness and attendant rattling.

The barrel has a forward portion 8 having a diameter greater than the diameter of the openings 12 in the holeplate 11 of an automatic dialing telephone apparatus. Portion 8 may be semi-spherical as shown, or may be of other suitable shape such as ellipsoidal, frusto-com'cal, bevel-ended cylindrical, et cetera.

Projecting forwardly from and concentrically out of portion 8 is an extension 9 of smaller diameter than the openings 12 in the hole-plate 11 of a telephone. The

extension 9 may be, as shown, cylindrical, or it may be of other suitable shape such as polygonal. The peripheral surface of extension 9 may be, as shown, parallel to the axis of the device, or may be tapered forwardly and away from the device to form a truncated shape such as a truncated cone or truncated polygon. The axial or projecting length of extension 9 may be very short, a

fl writi g point or ball 10,1projects forwardly and concentrically out of the extension 9.

The device is dimensioned so that, when the device is in position in the dialing apparatus of the telephone, the total projecting distance of the device beyond the inner surface of the hole-plate 11 is less than the distance between the dial plate and the hole-plate so that the writing ball cannot touch the dial plate. This protects the writing unit from damage and also protects the dial plate. By protecting the dial plate, it insures that the letters and numerals thereon will not be marked, marred, or removed by contact therewith.

FIG. 1 illustrates the device per se. FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the device in use in a telephone dialing apparatus. The device is received in an opening 12 in a holeplate 11 of the telephone dialing apparatus. The dial plate 13, upon which the dialing letters and numerals appear, and the hole-plate 11 are shown in section.

The extension 9, in the transverse direction, completely surrounds the writing unit, and the portion 8, in the transverse direction, completely surrounds the extension 9. The fact that the extension 9 complete-1y surrounds the writing unit insures protection of the writing unit against possible damage from contact with the hole-plate 11. It is the extension 9 and not the writing unit which contacts the rim of the hole-plate to hold the device in the opening of the hole-plate as shown in FIG. 3. Neither the writing unit norits writing point or element, e.g. the writing ball 10, touches either the dial plate or the holeplate and is therefor protected from damage.

The forward portion 8 may be integral with the portion of the barrel rearwardly thereof or it may be a separate element as for example a sleeve placed on the barrel.

The portion 8, besides acting as a telephone dial engaging device at its forward end, functions as a fingerstopping device at its rearward end and thus lends an advantageous gripping feature to the device both for gripping the device for the writing operation as well as for the dialing operation.

FIG. 2 illustrates the normal or usual position of the device while being used to dial a telephone number. FIG. 3 illustrates the position of the device after being released from the users fingers. The device drops, by its own weight to the self-holding position shown in FIG.

3, the extension 9 engaging the hole-plate 11 on the peripheral rim thereof defining the opening 12.

The device may be lifted from the dialing apparatus and used for writing without turning the device end for end and without the need to re-grasp or re-grip the device in the users fingers.

The device need never be laid on a desk or table. It more conveniently is always stored in the telephone dialing apparatus where it is advantageously located for either dialing or writing.

When in place in the telephone dialing apparatus the writing point of the writing unit is housed within the dialing apparatus and is thus protected from damage. There is thus not only no danger of damage to the writing point, but also no danger of soiling the hands or clothes of a user or a passer-by. These are strong advantages over devices having the writing point exposed at the opposite end from the dialing tool. A further advantage is that there is no need for a writing unit projection-retraction mechanism in the device of this invention.

The device may at all times, except when writing and except when changing from opening to opening during the dialing operation, be stored in the telephone, and thus it does not clutter up a desk or a table. The portion 8 may be provided with flat portions thereon (not shown) to prevent the device from rolling oil a desk or table if it should be placed thereon.

Changes or modifications not specifically mentioned herein will become apparent to one skilled in the art, and

are within the spirit of this invention and the scope of the claim hereinbelow.

I claim:

In combination, an automatic telephone apparatus having disposed in spaced parallel relation a dial plate and a dial-hole plate provided with finger openings therein,

a dialing tool writing instrument device adapted to fit into the finger openings of said dial-hole plate and rest thereupon, said device comprising:

a barrel member having an enlarged semi-spherical forward portion of diameter greater than the diameter of the dial-hole plate finger openings;

a cylindrical extension portion of diameter slightly less than the diameter of the dial-hole plate finger openings, projecting concentrically forward of said barrel forward portion to provide a cylindrical shoulder engageable with the peripheral rim of a dial-hole plate finger opening, said barrel forward portion and said cylindrical extension portion cooperating with a dialhole plate finger opening to support the device in the dial-hole plate; and

a writing unit including a writing point projecting forwardly and concentrically from said extension portion, the cumulative projection of said extension portion and said writing point forwardly of the dial-hole plate when the barrel forward portion is seated in a finger opening being less than the distance between the dial-hole plate and the dial plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 837,911 Benson Dec. 11, 1906 1,598,873 Paterson Sept. 7, 1926 1,798,050 Van Sickler Mar. 24, 1931 2,644,613 Pepin July 7, 1953 2,739,188 OConnell Mar. 20, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 530,082 Great Britain Dec. 4, 1940 702,922 Great Britain I an. 27, 1954 

